Photographer's Note

As the moon comes up, dances symbolizing the farm works performed. This is the "Plow dance". First, the villagers play the dance in a comical manner. Then the holy spirits (villagers wearing straw ropes and paper strips indicating they are performing divine bodies) mimic the farmer's dance amusing themselves. This procedure of the program may be the way 7th century Japanese get the graces of the holy spirits to help their farm works. YouTube